 |
 |
Keys
to the Kingdom National Anthem The Office |
 |
|
|
As a small state with limited resources, the primary concern of Jordanian policymakers must be to safeguard the country’s immediate national interests. However, the Hashemite leadership has concurrently pursued a number of grand strategic objectives designed to revitalize the Arab world and the Middle East. Jordan’s geostrategic outlook can therefore best be described as operating on two distinct yet sometimes interacting levels. The first involves activities, behavior and decisions that are related to the immediate welfare and survival of the country. The second track is a long-term activist orientation designed to spur a renewal of Arab energies and promote the overall well-being of the Middle East. By necessity, actions in the first track, which deal with the day-to-day business of the country, occupy most of the energy and time of the foreign policy apparatus. Actions on the second track, while more domestic in nature, are by no means less vital to the future of the Arab world and the Middle East region in general. Jordan’s location at the heart of Arab Asia, as well as its cultural and historical ties, ensures that it is affected by the overall long-term condition of the Arab world. One may legitimately question why there is a duality of scope and purpose in Jordan’s dealings with its immediate political environment. Moreover, if such a duality is unavoidable—as has been the case—then why should the state’s interests ever conflict with the Arab nation’s long-term aspirations? The answer to these questions can be found by examining both the existential predicament of Jordan as well as the prevailing status quo forces that dominate politics in the Middle East. |
 |
